Pakini Grill in Waimea

There's this spot in Waimea that has shuffled through at least three owners in the past seven years or so (since I started going to the Big Island with Kea). We went once when it was Koa Grill and it was awful--although to be fair, we probably ordered the wrong thing. Anyway, it's been operating as Pakini Grill for at least a year or two. And it has the cutest owl logo as you can see. (To be honest, this alone piqued my interest...)

We never checked it out. Not sure why. I guess we are usually eating my mother-in-law's home-cooking so we don't go out too much. We ended up meeting Kea's high school classmate and his wife there for lunch though.

He recommended the fish and chips and they were great. Kind of heavy on the batter but the batter had such good flavor that I didn't mind. It had an herb that reminds me of Thanksgiving turkey. It came with four huge pieces; I gave one to Kea. Also came with a huge pile of crispy french fries and a nice herby remoulade.

Kea ordered the hamburger steak and his classmate ordered the roast pork. Big portions all around and they said their food was good too. I tried the char siu red potato salad and loved it. I guess it's one of those newer twists on potato salad--lighter on the mayo and with more flavor. I am a fan of this trend!

Kea's classmate also ordered a Tahitian lemonade. I think it was kind of like a milkshake, but maybe not as thick. He said it had coconut flavor too. I so want to try it next time!

Image credit: http://www.urbanspoon.com/u/menu/1449536?p=0